Everyday
by ObsessdOne
Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere, and Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he’s unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku. Post KH2.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: On return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere, and Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: I realize that KH2 came out not too long ago, but if you're reading fanfiction, I assume you've either finished the game, or have been sufficiently spoiled to understand what's going on. K? Cool. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

"_Italicized" - _Means it's a quote from the game.

**Everyday**  
Chapter 1

-------------------------

"_We'll be together everyday, right Sora?"_

"_Uh… yeah!"_

Famous last words? You might think so, but you have to understand, I'd been looking for Kairi for so long. World after world, one adventure to the next. I never stopped looking for her, thinking about her, worrying about her.

She was one of my best friends. Riku, Kairi, and I, we used to be inseparable, and for last few years, all we'd done was be separated. And the funny thing? We'd thought we wanted it. We'd built that raft, named it, and prepared to set out to sea. Set out for a bigger world. Boy, did we get a bigger world! But after that, we'd lost each other. And it became pretty obvious it wasn't the size of your world that mattered, but the size of your heart.

Lost and confused in that new world, I had searched for Kairi, fought for her, saved her from the darkness. She'd meant everything to me back then. I was so happy to get her back to the island, to finally succeed, even if I had lost her…

And then, I had to start all over again. Because even with Kairi safe, Riku, Riku still wasn't. Nothing's ever easy with Riku.

So then I fought for Riku. Searched for him and worried about him. Just like I had Kairi. The whole ordeal, all over again. A friend missing, and me, flying all over the universe trying to find them and help them. Because that's what friends do. Or at least, that's what me and my friends do, I don't know about you? We're a bit out of the ordinary.

And after all that, when we where finally back together, together in a castle of nothingness maybe, but still together, yes, I wanted more than anything to spend every second of my life with my friends. So when Kairi asked to be together everyday? Sure, maybe it was a little excessive, but who knew she would take my words so seriously?

I sure didn't.

--------------------------

When Riku and I got back to the island, swimming up to shore and quickly being welcomed by our friends, I was…well, ecstatic. Come on, we won, we were back together again, everything was great! Go us! Tell me you wouldn't feel the same!

Things weren't so perfect for long though.

"Well," said King Mickey, in that comically high voice of his as Riku and I lay on the beach, drying off in the sun. "I'd say it's about time we move on, the sooner the better."

"What! But… can't we have a little while to say goodbye?" The final battle, the defeat of Organization XIII and Xemnas, all the work we'd done, everything we'd suffered through, just to get to this moment, and now, now they were just going to walk away? It wasn't _fair_.

"Gawrsh King Mickey, can't we stay a little longer, we're sure gonna miss Sora!" Goofy sighed, a big frown on his silly face. I nodded my agreement, shaking seawater from my hair as I did so.

"Yeah!" Donald squawked, not usually one to question the King. None of us wanted to be split up, not after being together for so long...

"Gosh, I'm sorry guys, but it's really best we go as soon as possible. Now that everything's back in order, we don't want to upset the balance of our worlds anymore than _absolutely_ necessary." Mickey sighed, looking genuinely sorry to be the bearer of bad news, as he often was, and I slumped, realizing I really would have to say goodbye to my friends.

"I'm gonna miss you guys…" I said through a sad smile, grabbing the two characters into a tight hug. And I would miss them. Donald and Goofy had been with me through all the worlds I'd traveled and all the adventures I'd taken. It would be weird not having them around. Lonely. I hadn't been lonely in a long time, even while searching desperately for Kairi and Riku, I'd always had those two.

"Aw, don't be sad Sora." Donald frowned up at me, and I smiled, because I knew he would miss me just as much as I would miss him.

"Yup, we'll always be with you in your heart Sora!" Goofy informed me with forced cheerfulness, and I gave him a grin for his efforts. Then Riku grabbed the King into one last hug, and we waved a final goodbye. They boarded what had once been my own gummi ship, and they were gone. Really gone.

I was alone.

No Goofy.

No Donald.

Just me.

Sora.

And then there was a warm solid hand on my right shoulder, Riku, and a light touch on my left hand, Kairi, and a smile spread across my face.

Wrong, I was wrong. I wasn't loosing friends here, I was getting my old friends back. As much as I loved Donald and Goofy, they weren't from my world, and they weren't Kairi and Riku.

"You guys are the best!" I yelled, throwing my arms around both of them and squeezing them tightly. Kairi giggled sweetly, Riku grunted and collapsed at my feet. I flinched in surprise, immediately letting go of both of them. Woops?

"Riku!" Kairi cried, falling down next to him and holding a small hand out, wanting to help and not sure what to do. I just stood there, looking down at the top of both of their heads and thinking I really should have remembered Riku was injured. He'd gotten hurt saving _me_ after all.

Boy, did I feel stupid.

"Er, sorry," I laughed nervously, finally coming out of my trance and sitting down cross legged in front of the hunched Riku and the worrying Kairi.

"S'fine" He muttered, and Kairi just looked at me. What? She knows I do stupid things sometimes! I said I was sorry! I just sort of… forgot he was hurt…

"We'd better get him off the island and back home Kairi." I commanded her, trying to look like less of an idiot. See, I have things under control. Really, I do. This definitely isn't my fault. Riku should have been healed by now anyway… "Riku, why didn't you take a potion?"

"I did." The taller boy muttered, straightening up so slowly it _looked_ painful. Already taken a potion? Something had to be wrong with him... We needed to get him back to the mainland. There would be time to reminisce on the island later.

"What happened?" Kairi questioned, big blue eyes searching my face for all the answers in the world. I'd forgotten she wasn't there for the final battle, and so she hadn't seen him get hurt. It was for the best, really. Although Kairi had slain a few Heartless, I doubted she was ready for much more than that. Certainly not seeing her friends get hurt. Even I wasn't ready for that.

"Xemnas. Xemnas happened." And you Sora. You should have taken better care of Riku. You're the Chosen One, the Keyblade Master, you should have protected him. He wasn't prepared to fight the darkness like you were, he needed you, and you let him get hurt, you let him down…

I shook my head furiously and gave Riku a hand up, supporting him on my shoulder as Kairi walked around to his other side. I would make it up to him. I was with my friends now, I could protect them from the darkness, be with them. I had all the time in the world.

Together, Kairi and I helped Riku to the boat and set off for the mainland.

-------------------------

"He's grown," Kairi gasped, trying to pull Riku from the bottom of the boat, where he'd fallen asleep, and onto the dock. And man, had he grown! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. I felt short in comparison. Unfortunately, he was a lot heavier now.

"Here, you grab his left arm, I'll get his right, and we'll both pull on three. Ready?" I asked, bracing myself against the dock.

"Right!" Kairi cried, grasping Riku's wrist with he tiny hands. I sighed. She wasn't going to be much help. Oh well, at least she was trying.

"One… Two… Three!" We both pulled harshly on Riku's arms at the same time, and apparently, I didn't know my own strength, because the silver haired boy went flying. He came crashing down hard on the dock, right on top of me, his face buried in my stomach. For some reason I blushed.

Riku lifted his head slowly, looking at me with bleary eyes. For a moment, there was something there. Understanding, friendship of the deepest kind, maybe even something more. Our hearts connected…

And then he promptly rolled over and vomited onto the dock.

"Ew!" Kairi cried from not too far away. I'd almost forgotten she was there. Again, Kairi didn't seem too sure what to do, she wanted to help, I could tell, but girls and vomit? They just don't mix. Riku's was clutching his side tightly, breathing hard and looking generally ill.

"Kairi, I think you better go get help."

"Um, right! Who…?" She looked frightened, and I felt bad for her.

"Hospital." Riku croaked out and we both looked at him in surprise. There was a moment of silence while Kairi waited for my consensus, and then I nodded. If potions weren't working, what else could we do?

"Yeah, do what he says. Tell them to send an ambulance okay?" The word 'ambulance' on my lips gave me butterflies, making the situation all the more real. Kairi took off at a run immediately upon hearing my words.

And then we were alone.

Riku lay next to me, clammy and ill from pain, and I couldn't imagine what I should do. Even when we'd traveled, I'd never come across an injury that couldn't be healed with a potion…

"What about Curaga?" I asked, excited. Maybe that would fix him.

"Huh?" Riku muttered, his eyes closed against the harsh sun.

"Did you try Curaga?" I asserted again.

"No, haven't got the powerful of magic…" He mumbled back. Oh. Of course not. I'm the only one that powerful. I'm the one who should have protected him in the fight. Without the darkness inside him, he's…

"Let me try." I said, trying to sound sure of myself when I felt anything but. I immediately cast the spell on him and watched closely for any sign that it might be working. In other words, I stared. I got what I was looking for though. The lines of pain around his eyes loosened, his fists unclenched and Riku sighed, rolling onto his back and looking up at me with clear blue eyes once again.

"Nice. You gotta teach me how to do that." He smirked, and I grinned stupidly back.

"You're better!" I fixed it, I fixed it, I fixed it! Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh! Who's your daddy? That's right!

"Sort of. Feel about how I did at the beach. Think you could help me up? We're a little to close to last night's dinner for my comfort." Riku interrupted my celebrating with a soft snort and a shake of his head. Guess he was embarrassed.

Disillusioned, I nodded and helped him across the dock away from the puddle of vomit. Fine by me.

Riku seemed clearer now, certainly in less pain. We must have hurt him dropping him on the dock like that. (Will my guilt never end today?) But whatever was wrong with him after we'd fought Xemnas, the Curaga hadn't fixed it, that much was clear.

"…Hey Sora?" Riku said after a long while, so long that I was starting to wonder what was keeping Kairi.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to miss the darkness." He said it quietly, as if he thought I was going to be angry. I wasn't. I understood, if anyone could. I had been there with him, and darkness and light? They weren't so different.

"I'm going to miss Donald and Goofy." Was my only answer, and it was good enough.

"I'm going to miss Mickey."

"I'm going to miss Leon's Crew."

"I'm going to miss Ansem the Wise."

"I'm going to miss seeing other worlds."

"I'm going to miss working undercover."

"I'm going to miss Sea-Salt Ice Cream."

"…Huh?" Riku asked, giving me a confused look.

"Never mind." I laughed, because not even I knew the answer to that one.

So we sat together on the dock, Riku resting against me in the afternoon sun, thinking of all the things we would miss, and all the things we'd lost, even though we'd won. And looking at his silver hair, too long and gleaming in the rays of light, I still couldn't help but be happy.

"Riku."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not going to miss you."

He smiled. "Me neither."

We linked hands. And I was happy.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: On return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Yay for Chapter 2! I feel accomplished.

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

"_Italicized" - _Means it's a quote from the game.

Everyday

Chapter 2

---------------------

When the ambulance finally arrived, Kairi wasn't with it.

I could hear it coming from miles away, getting louder and louder as it neared. Then, from one instant to the next, the peaceful dock where Riku and I sat reminiscing was transformed into a scene of chaos. The ambulance came speeding towards us, jerking to a halt, sirens ringing in our ears and lights flashing blindingly.

Riku was torn from my grasp and strapped onto a stretcher. It was sort of traumatic.

Everyone was talking at the same time, and still they seemed to be able to communicate. One paramedic asked me what happened and, well, what could I tell him? 'You see, there was this nothing named Xemnas, who thought he was eternal…' Instead, I told them he fell on the dock, which was true, so hey, I wasn't really lying.

They were rolling Riku up into the ambulance on the gurney, preparing to take him to the hospital, and I couldn't help but notice that no one had invited me to come along.

"Hey, wait up." I frowned, grabbing onto the door, pulling myself up into the back of the vehicle, but a surgical glove covered hand reached out and pushed me back steadily.

"He's being taken to Unmei Hospital. You'll have to meet us there, there isn't enough room in the ambulance." A rough voice told me. I don't think so.

"I'm not leaving him!" I informed them, giving the paramedic my best glare. These people were supposed to be _helping_ me. Idiots.

"Listen kid-" The man tried to explain, but Riku cut in.

"He comes too." _Thank you_, Riku. At least someone around here has some common sense! Jeez.

The paramedics seemed conflicted for a moment. Maybe it's against procedure to bring someone else along; maybe they just don't want a kid in the ambulance. Either way, even hurt and strapped down to a gurney, Riku's damn intimidating. I think it's the height. Maybe the hair. Probably both. Smug bastard.

"Get on in son." One of the doctors told me, and I scrambled into the back of the ambulance with them, claiming a spot near Riku's head.

"He took a potion, but it didn't work… well, at least not all the way." I explained in an embarrassingly more mouse-like tone than I had intended. I put a hand over my mouth and coughed. A manly cough.

The paramedics didn't seem interested in what I had to say, probably still miffed that I was even there at all. They scuffled around us, the sirens screeching in my ears. I was more nervous than I'd ever been before any battle, so I made funny faces at Riku to keep him entertained. He humored me. Barely.

By the time we got there, I had Riku making funny faces too. The paramedics must have thought we were pretty weird. We are, I guess.

"Go to the waiting room, you'll have to fill out some information about your friend." One of them told me. Riku was wheeled away, and I waved goodbye to the back of his head. His hair sort of waved back, but I don't think it was on purpose. Heh.

Moving into the Waiting Room, Kairi was sitting in an uncomfortable looking bench seat, hands folded in her lap, head hung low, bangs covering her eyes.

"Kairi!" I called out, jogging over to comfort her.

"Sora! What happened? Is he okay?" She asked in a low, secretive voice as I sat down and put my arm around her shoulders.

"I cast a Curaga on him," I whispered back, not wanting everyone in the Waiting Room to be aware of just how powerful I might be. "He seemed a lot better. The doctors are still going to have a look at him though." I left it at that. No need to worry her until anything was for sure, right?

Kairi nodded, sniffing and burying her face in my shoulder, making me jump. "Oh Sora… I wish we could just be happy together."

"Hey… don't worry Kairi, everything's gonna be fine, really." I patted her on the back stiffly, not so sure what to do. It had been a long time since I'd had to comfort a girl, you know? Not standard procedure for the Keybarer.

Kairi nodded, but didn't move her head off my shoulder.

And so we sat, Kairi and I, confused and worried, but together again, waiting for news on the third musketeer. It could have been minutes and it could have been hours. There was a clock, but I never looked at it. Time doesn't matter when you have forever.

---------------------

Riku's parents were called immediately to the hospital to fill out his information and paperwork. It proved to be an interesting reunion.

"My son." Riku's mother said, standing at the front desk and wringing her hands nervously. "My son, they told me to come…"

I couldn't hear what the nurse said, hopefully something comforting. She must have had a hard job, people coming in all day in a panicked state. Riku's mom gave her his name, and the nurse gave her a pile of paperwork in exchange. Then, she turned around, and she saw us.

It had begun.

"Sora, Kairi!" She cried, running over to us and giving Kairi a big hug. She hadn't seen us in years after all. Hadn't seen her own son in years. Of course she was excited to see us.

I met Kairi's gaze out of the corner of my eye. She looked worried, and a little guilty. We weren't prepared for this, we didn't have a story. What were we going to tell her? 'Sorry we disappeared for so many years, we were saving the universe.' Yeah, right.

"Sora…" Riku's mom looked up at me with tear filled blue eyes, so much like his, and I gulped. This was it. We were going to have to fake it. Here it came: 'what did you do to my son?' 'we were so worried!' 'where have you _been_?"

"Sora, what happened? He was fine just this morning!" She cried out, so loud it seemed to echo off the white walls.

Great, how was I supposed to answer that? I mean, he was attacked by- Wow, wait, this morning?

"What?" What?

"He fell at the docks." Kairi covered for me, giving the mother a comforting smile. But… Kairi… didn't you hear that, she just said…

"Oh, I've told you three to stop that ridiculous sword fighting, and still you do it! You see what's happened now? I told you someone would get hurt! Just wait till his father gets here!" The woman ranted, but there was no real anger in her voice, just frightened recognition.

Riku's mother hadn't seen him in years, any of us in years. And yet… she was not surprised to see us, not surprised we were here, even seemed to know us. What was this? It was like we'd been here all along…

I caught Kairi's eye, but it gave me no insight into the situation.

"How… how was Riku, this _morning_?" I asked cautiously, studying his mother.

"Fine…he was fine!" She's frowned, her forehead wrinkling as she thought back on memories of breakfast with her son. Except that this morning, her son was in an entirely different Universe. False memories.

"I, I'm sure he'll be okay." Kairi said, putting her small hand on Riku's mother's arm. Offering comfort.

We were quite.

------------------

"You're Riku's family, correct?" A woman questioned over her half glasses hours later, her eyes glancing over all of us and finally falling on Riku's mother and father, who had shown up later with a grim expression on his face and his own insistence that Riku had seemed 'just fine' before he'd left that morning. "I'm Dr. Cho. Please come this way, you may see him now."

Kairi and I followed along, happy to play brother and sister if Riku's parents had no objection. The three of us where certainly close enough to be siblings, if not by blood.

"I'm afraid Riku's fall was rather serious." The doctor explained as she led us down a wide hallway. All this time spent waiting for news on his condition, and I still wasn't ready for it. I gulped back the lump in my throat. Serious? He'd seemed okay on the dock…

"How serious doctor?" Riku's mother asked worriedly, voicing the question I couldn't seem to.

Dr. Cho stopped, holding up a finger to halt the conversation, and allowing us into Riku's room where he lay in a bed, awake and alert as ever. I felt the cold hand of dread grasp my heart. There couldn't be something wrong with him, he looked _fine_! He looked like Riku, sitting up in bed with that stupid little smirk on him face and his too long hair obstructing the view of ice cold eyes.

"I've been told he fell while playing at the harbor?" Cho questioned, Kairi looked at me through the corner of her eye, and I nodded hesitantly, because that _was_ our story. "Well then, it must have been quite a fall, because Riku appears to have broken a rib." Dr. Cho smiled comfortingly at the boy in the bed, who just smirked right back. _Fall_, sure.

"So, he's going to be okay?" I gasped out, wide eyed and hopeful once again. That… was it? No death sentence? No terminal illness? Just… a broken rib? We could deal with that. Sure, it would hurt, but it would heal. It was possible, Xemnas had hit him pretty hard, but…"The potion, we gave him a potion. It didn't…"

"Ah yes, well, if you know anything about magics, you know potions and cures work only on artificial wounds, not on something such as a broken bone." The doctor smiled at me like she might any boy who was battling with magics and weapons they didn't fully understand. I felt like collapsing to the floor and laughing. Of course! Of _course_!_ I knew_ that, why hadn't I remembered?

"Anyway, Riku should be just fine with plenty of rest." Dr. Cho continued, addressing the worrying parents fussing over Riku, as I was no longer listening, hugging Kairi tightly and swinging her around the room. He's okay, He's okay, He's okay! "He'll have to stay in the hospital for at least a week, if all goes well, we'll release him Friday. He'll need to take it easy for the next month or so after that, no roughhousing, no "playing on the docks". I expect he'll be fully healed in no time." The doctor finished off with a smile, showing the parents X-rays and statistics that meant little to Kairi and I, and then dismissing herself from the room.

"You're okay!" Kairi cried as I set her down mid-spin, running to Riku's side and throwing her arms around his neck, careful not to hurt him this time. Riku chuckled softly.

"You had doubts?" He murmured in that deep voice that I had missed so much, maybe a little deeper now than I had remembered it, and I moved to sit at his side as well.

"Riku man, you gotta stop doing this to me." I laughed, resting my head against the side of his bed, losing all my adrenaline in a huge breath and suddenly feeling very tired. Well, you've got to admit, it had been a pretty long day.

Riku grabbed my hand in his, gripping it tightly and as I looked into his eyes, Kairi put her small hand on top of ours. A long day, but always worth it.

----------------

Walking home that night, I though of all the things that might have happened to Riku, all the things that _could _have happened to him. Because I wasn't good enough. Because I didn't protect him. Because in the moment he needed me, I wasn't there.

What would I do, after all this time, all these ventures, and after going through all those worlds looking for him, if Riku were to die in the last battle, because of my own foolishness? Because in the battle where I was supposed to be protecting him, he died protecting me. What would you do, Sora? Well?

I…I…

I didn't have an answer to that. I was just grateful it hadn't happen. A close call. Too close for my comfort. I wouldn't let it happen again. I _won't_ let you be hurt again Riku.

He thought he was strong, that he could do everything on his own. He embraced the darkness for us, fought for us, and hell, he'd probably die for us too. But before now, there'd been no one to protect him. Now, I could do it. I could. I would. And damn it if I wasn't just a little bit proud of that.

Walking home that night, I grinned to the cold night air in triumph. I was going to be there for Riku. I was going to protect him, not just now, but everyday, forever.

Unfortunately, I'd already made that promise to someone else…

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: On return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Woohoo! Another chapter! Please review if you like it.

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

"_Italicized" - _Means it's a quote from the game.

Everyday

Chapter 3

---------------

"Sora, just for a few hours, can't we go?" Kairi tried to convince me for the umpteenth time that morning as we both walked towards the hospital. It was a beautiful summer day, not a cloud in the sky, a perfect day to go out…A perfect day to visit Destiny Island.

"Kairi, come on, it's just until Friday." I reasoned, looking back at her over my shoulder as she lagged behind.

"I know." She sighed, looking down and kicking at the ground with her toe.

"If you really want to go to the island, ask Selphie to go with you, okay?" I suggested. Kairi seemed pretty unhappy with the idea of staying in the hospital all day, but I wasn't ready to leave Riku alone. It wasn't going to be the two of us going to that island; it was going to be the _three_ of us.

"NO! I mean… No thanks, I'd rather stay." Kairi responded quickly, making me look at her oddly. I smiled and shrugged, putting my arm over her shoulders. She was probably feeling some separation anxiety. We'd all have to go do something fun once Riku got out of the hospital. Well, something fun and non-strenuous, as the doctor had said.

Kairi was quiet the rest of the way to the hospital and up the Riku's room, and I had to be thankful for that. It was only Sunday, after all, and if Kairi was complaining already… well, I just hoped she'd cheer up about the whole thing once she saw Riku. I knew I would.

The walls of Riku's hospital room were harsh white, a window overlooked the parking lot, and a single, empty vase decorated that windowsill. There was a curtain designed to block off the view of the roommate that Riku was lucky enough not to have yet, the bed, a table, and then there was Riku. It was a bit… stark.

"This place really needs a woman's touch." Kairi murmured as Riku noticed our entrance, tapping her chin with her finger. "Ah, this is it!" Grabbing the vase from the window sill, Kairi set it on a table next to Riku's bed. "Now isn't that _sooo_ much better?" She grinned, Riku laughed, and I gave a sigh of relief. It looked like Kairi was back to her old self.

"What are you two doing here?" Riku wondered aloud, cocking his head to the side and giving me a look that I couldn't quite categorize, but made me shiver.

"Redecorating." Kairi said warmly, as if she hadn't just been complaining about coming, and sat down easily next to Riku's bed.

"Why wouldn't we be here?" I asked, giving him a challenging look. He just looked down and smiled to himself. My challenging looks must have gotten a lot better than they used to be. They used to get me beat up.

The room was quiet… _Too_ quiet.

"Any cute nurses?" I asked, taking a seat next to Kairi. What? I really wanted to know. There might have been an upside to this hospitalization thing.

"Sora you perv!" Kairi laughed, hitting me on the arm, and Riku just watched us through lowered eyelashes and too long bangs.

"I was just curious!" I begged for mercy as Kairi kept playfully hitting me on the shoulder.

"Hey," She exclaimed, giving up on her attack with a look that should send you running because, uh oh, Kairi's got an idea. "We should set you up with someone Riku!" Kairi giggles and I grinned too… that is until Riku glared holes into my head like it was all my fault. What? I wasn't trying to get _him_ a date. I didn't want to set him up anyway, we were finally back together, a girl would just get in the way.

"So, when we spring you from this place on Friday, Kairi says she wants to go back to the island, catch up on old memories. Sound good to you Riku?" I said, trying to distract Kairi from her train of thought with memories of the island and appease Riku at the same time. The silver haired boy nodded slowly, apparently thinking of the island as well.

Destiny Island. It all started there, this journey. I lost them both there. Thinking I wanted adventure, I lost my friends. But things turned out okay, right? And besides, everything would be fine. Just as long as we didn't build a raft, anyway.

"Speaking of memories, isn't it weird no one realizes we were gone?" Kairi perked up, looking at me questioningly, as if I have all the answers. I loved that look and feared it at the same time. Someday, I wasn't going to have the answer.

So, why didn't anyone realize we'd been gone? Whenever memories where being fooled around with, I automatically suspected Organization XIII, but with them defeated, and the memories actually a help to us…

"I think maybe, a gift from Namine?" I offered, turning around and trying to look straight through Kairi, as if maybe I'd be able to see Namine again.

"Does Namine even exist here?" Kairi asked, a small frown on her face. I wasn't sure either, but I wanted to think she did. After all, we promised her she could be with Roxas from now on, right?

"I think so." I told Kairi with a smile, wanting her to believe it too, even if it wasn't true. Besides, who else had the ability to screw up people's memories so utterly?

"Well, whatever it is, it sure does help things." Riku murmured, and my eyes turned to him.

"_You're coming back with us, right?"_

"_I had given in to the darkness. How'm I gonna face everyone?"_

"Thank you, Namine." I whispered, speaking directly to Kairi's heart, because if Namine was anywhere, that's where she must be. Then Kairi frowned and me because hey, I did just talk to her chest. I blushed and scratched my head appropriately.

"So… you sure you don't want me to set you up with anyone Riku? There's this really cute girl in school, Rinoa…"

And so, our first week together began.

---------------

For the first few days, Kairi didn't mind so much. Riku was in the hospital after all, and she hadn't seen him in a long time either. It was the right thing to do, to go and see him. But by Wednesday, she was getting a little antsy. The hospital walls were stark and boring, boxing her in, and she'd had quite enough of being boxed up, thank you very much!

"Sora, we should give Riku a day to rest, don't you think? We've been bothering him all week, and he doesn't even seem to want us there anymore." Kairi began her argument with zeal at my house at 9:00 AM that morning, right before we were supposed to leave for the hospital like we did everyday.

It was true, Riku did seem a bit tired with our presence, was quieter than usual. But then, what was usual? We hadn't seen Riku in years, not since the darkness had taken him over, how would we know what he was feeling. And besides, I _liked_ going to see him…

"Come on Kairi, we already told him we'd come…" It was a losing argument.

"Please Sora? We'll go see him later this afternoon." Kairi promised, looking up at me with big pools of blue, and you know I had to give her what she wanted. I sighed, then smiled.

"Okay Kairi, what do _you_ want to do today?"

"All right!" She cried, jumping in the air excitedly. Grabbing my arm, we went running out of my house and down the street, and I couldn't help but laugh. I'd missed this after all, missed seeing her happy.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we slowed down to a walk and I laced my fingers between hers. Kairi gave me a beaming smile. "We'll wait to go to the island until Riku's with us, okay?" I asserted, and she didn't seem that put out by it.

"We could go to Selphie's house. I missed her." Kairi told me wistfully, and I was happy to oblige. Selphie, I hadn't seen her in such a long time…

Kairi and I walked towards our old friend's house with our fingers laced on a peaceful day in a world that was my home, a world that I belonged in, and wow did it feel weird. You'd think it would feel familiar, you know? But I was ready for a Heartless to jump out at any moment, for Kairi freeze up and for that last member of Organization XIII to step up and say something prophetic. It never happened. We walked all the way to Selphie's house in complete harmony and safety. This, was this really where I belonged? Here, is this amazingly normal, serene place. Could I really live here?

"Sora, Kairi, nice to see you." I was shaken from my musings by Selphie's cheerful voice. She was different. Taller. (Why was everyone so much taller than me now?) Less of a little girl and more…wow. I stared.

"Sora." Selphie laughed, and Kairi looked at me like I'd stabbed her puppy. "Stop that!"

"…Huh?" Was my ever so intelligent reply.

Selphie just giggled and invited us in.

"Where have you two been the last few days? Hmmm?" Selphie smiled, as if she knew something we didn't. Maybe she did.

"Riku… fell at the docks, he's in the hospital, we've been staying with him." I explained, realizing she hadn't heard about it. Thinking of Riku kind of made me wish we could go back to the hospital, but it wouldn't be fair to walk out on Selphie, and I had promised Kairi…

"Oh! That's too bad." Selphie frowned, looking honestly upset, and I was reminded that Riku was her friend as well. "I didn't know, is he okay?"

"He's fine." Kairi assured her.

"Well, that's good, maybe I'll visit him in a few days… Wakka and Tidus have a soccer match tomorrow, do you guys want to come? We were hoping you would. They'll be so upset Riku isn't coming…" Selphie frowned, and thinking back on it, Wakka and Tidus always had had a bit of hero-worship for the older Riku.

"We could come, right Sora?" Kairi smiled at me, and it did sound like the right thing to do. Wakka and Tidus. I hardly remembered what those two looked like.

"Sure! No problem Selphie. We'll be there." I nodded, and that brings a smile to both the girls' faces.

We spent most of the day at Selphie's into the late afternoon, and by the time we got to see Riku, it was already five o'clock.

"Hey," He greeted us when we came in as he always did, seemingly unaffected by our lateness.

"Hi Riku," Kairi greeted him cheerfully as we both sat down at his bed. "We went to see Selphie today."

Riku nodded once. I couldn't see his eyes, and I didn't think he blamed us for not being here, but I still wished I had been. I opened my mouth to ask what he'd done today, and then I closed it. I didn't want to know.

"Hey Kairi?" Riku asked, looking up at her with friendly eyes. "Could you go get me something to eat from the fast food place across the street? This hospital food, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Sure!" Kairi seemed more than happy to oblige, perhaps feeling slightly guilty for leaving Riku alone all day and wanting to repent. She went quickly, a skip in her step, closing the door behind her, and then we were alone, just like before. Alone in the darkness. Alone in the light. Alone together. Even here, in a world that was our… home?

"Riku?" I asked, looking at his angular features.

"Hm?" He was watching me as well, and I felt safe here, right here, with Riku. This was what I'd been looking for.

"Do you think we really belong here? It's so... normal." I wondered, now that we were here, if we really should have stayed in the darkness together. It almost seemed to fit us. We would never be the kids we used to be. We'd grown so much since then.

"What, you think this place is normal? You're crazy." He chuckled deeply and I smiled as well, glad to see him in good humor.

"You know what I mean, not-in-immediate-danger-of-being-killed-by-Heartless normal."

"Where do you want to be Sora?" Riku asked me seriously, and boy, that's a whopper of a question. Out of all the places I'd gone, and all the places I could go, I always thought I wanted to be here, on the mainland, on the island, in my own world. I was close, but not quite right.

"I want to be with you, you and Kairi."

"Then yes, right now, you belong here." Riku stared deeply into my eyes, sending a shiver up my spine, and for a moment our emotions spoke to each other, our minds touched, and our hearts connected. Two halves of a whole? Maybe, but I wasn't a Nothing, and he wasn't a Heartless.

Kairi returned and the moment passed, but it was long engrained in my mind, my memory. I did belong here. I belonged with Riku.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Aaannnddd, I really don't have much to say in these notes do I? Except that I hope you like this chapter and if you do, I'd really appreciate a review. ;;; Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

"_Italicized" - _Means it's a quote from the game.

Everyday

Chapter 4

---------------

The world was blank.

White. Stark. Much like Riku's hospital room really. Was I there? No. Where was I?

I was floating, which, hey, for me, wasn't that odd. I'd flown with Tinkerbelle, swam with Ariel, and ran the Great Plains with Simba, so, floating, not that weird. Anyway, I was floating, nothing below me, nothing above, nothing, no one, nowhere.

I was lost.

"Hey… hey, is anybody here? Donald? Goofy?" My voice echoed eerily off the walls that were not there. I reached my ungloved hand out, examining it. My palm looked small and vulnerable without the glove, certainly not fit to wield the Keyblade. I'd always worn those gloves, I felt naked without them… Oh wait, I was naked. Now… how did that happen?

"What the…?" I muttered, looking down at myself as if my nakedness would offer some explanation that my brain could not. It didn't. It just stared back at me, informing me I could do with some time on the beach, I was getting pale. I'd never noticed how cute my toes were either…

"Sora." His voice! Riku!

I looked up, and Riku was floating before me. I wondered how he felt about floating? He'd never gotten to go with me to all those worlds. I'd never seen his face when he met Mickey, the talking mouse. I'd never got to experience any of those things with Riku… I should take Riku to meet Ariel, he would make a cute Merman…

In the nothingness before me, Riku was dressed, shoes and all, which didn't seem fair. In a normal situation, standing nude before Riku, I'd blush, but it didn't seem important now.

"Sora..." He said my name in such a sad way that I didn't know what to do. What do you do with Riku? He hurts and pushes you away, he helps without letting you know, he loves you without ever letting on…

I reached my arms out slowly, capturing Riku in my grasp and pulling him carefully towards me until you could hardly tell which body was his and which mine, except for the small issue of the clothes. We stood there, okay, floated there, and I clutched Riku to my chest with everything I had, refusing to let him go. Because with Riku, you know eventually he's going to go, and he's going to do it for all the right reasons, or so he'll tell you.

"I belong with you." I told him. And didn't he say that, because I'm sure he did? I'm sure it's true now, those words, etched into my mind.

"Yes." Riku agreed, looking into my eyes like a lost child. When did you become so lost Riku? "And I belong with you."

"_Sora?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_You lead."_

---------------

"Sora, wake up sleepy-head, the game's going to start without us!" Someone was calling me, shaking my bed. Nice comfy bed…

"Huh?" Go away, evil person, Sora is sleeping…

"Soraaa. The soccer match!" Oh. It was Kairi. In my room. Wait, I was naked, wasn't I naked?

"AHH! Kairi! Get out!" I screeched, pulling my blanket up protectively around my shoulders like a blushing virgin…well, I was one. Kairi just laughed, bouncing off my bed lightly and running out the door. I sighed in relief and flopped back down on the bed. The girl is crazy, absolutely insane.

Pulling my blanket away, I realized that I was not, in fact, naked, but clothed in my usual set of happy faced boxers. Only naked in the dream then…

That's right, the dream, it had almost slipped away from me in the commotion, funny how dreams tend to do that. Like the world of sleep is entirely different from ours. Memories are so fragile, unpredictable. You never know how long you'll get to keep them.

Riku looked so lost in the dream world. More a figment of my imagination than anything else. The Riku of reality would never show such vulnerability. He liked to feel like he was in charge. Like he had everything under control. He doesn't anymore though. Without the darkness, Riku was just… well, just Riku. An older version of the child he used to be. We all are, I guess. Even me. Heh.

So, yeah, maybe he said it when he was injured, maybe he said it while we were in the dark realm, maybe he said it out of great despair, but still, he said it.

"_You lead."_

So, I will. I'll lead all of us. He needs me just as much as Kairi does, just as much as I need the both of them, whether he'd admit it under normal circumstances or not, he does…

"Sora, hurry up!" Oh, right. Thursday morning. Soccer game. Wakka, Tidus. Great, let's get dressed Sora, get moving before Kairi decides to come running in and see you in your boxers.

Hurrying out of bed, I hastily threw on my normal clothes, stopping to look at my naked hands for just a moment before pulling the gloves on.

"Coming Kairi!" I yelled, running out the door, grabbing her hand, and dragging her down the stairs and out the front door of the house. After that, I couldn't remember which way our school was, so Kairi pulled me along.

"I'm so glad we're going to see Wakka and Tidus, it's been a long time." Kairi sighed, smiling at me as we moved leisurely towards the school.

"Huh, that's right, you've been gone awhile too, haven't you?" I knew she'd left our world, and then been kidnapped by Axel, but Kairi seemed so comfortable with being home again that it never really registered with me. I felt a twinge of sympathy for her. I wondered if she felt as isolated as I did.

"Yeah, I really did miss things here… especially the island." She reminisced, and then she perked up. "But I'm glad I found you!"

I laughed. "Me too Kairi."

When we reach the school, it was crowded. A lot of teenagers had given up a day of their summer break to return to the school and watch the soccer match. I hadn't expected this many people, but maybe I should have, Tidus was pretty famous with a ball after all. It was odd to see all the faces that I almost recognized, but not quite. Some people I didn't know waved to me, so I waved back.

"Rinoa, Selphie!" Kairi cried from behind me, drawing my attention away from the intimidating crowd and towards Selphie and a dark haired girl in a blue dress.

"Kairi, you made it. I'm glad, You've been so busy lately." The girl that must have been Rinoa smiled at her sweetly. They hugged, and Rinoa looked at me questioningly. I wasn't sure if I should hug her like we were old friends or introduce myself. It was weird.

"Is this Sora?" Rinoa asked, and boy, that was a big help. Score one for team Sora!

"Yeah!" Kairi stepped forward, grabbing my hand and offering it to Rinoa like I wasn't going to do it myself. Well, maybe I wasn't.

Rinoa smiled kindly at me. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." The conversation didn't go much farther than that, Kairi grabbed my hand, and the four of us pushed through the crowd towards our seats.

It was a close game, or, a close game for Tidus, at least how I remember it. Maybe he hadn't been practicing as much over the years, paying more attention to girls than soccer. I don't have to tell you who won though, Tidus'll never lose his touch. We cheered them on from the stands, Kairi and I jumping up and down, while Rinoa and Selphie showed their enthusiasm to a slightly lesser extent, and when the game was over, we all ran down to greet Wakka and Tidus.

"Dude, that was great Tidus!" I could hear Wakka congratulating his teammate from a distance, running up. His voice was deeper now, not so squeaky. I'd like to say the same about mine, but I wasn't so sure. "We massacred 'em!"

They weren't _that_ good!

"Stop showing off Wakka! We _always_ win!" Selphie scolded as we reached our two old friends on the field. They sure looked odd. Wakka still talked like he was from the islands, but man, I think he was overdoing it the way he was dressing now. And Tidus… I didn't even _know_ what Tidus was wearing under _his_ jersey. Then again, maybe I'm not one to talk.

"Hey Sora!" Tidus waved from behind Wakka's broad shoulders. "Good to see ya. We were worried-

"Man! I can't _believe_ Riku didn't show up, ya? I mean, first game of the summer, and he had to miss it! What a downer." Wakka sure was vocal…

"Hey! You know he's in the hospital!" Selphie butted in, standing up for the boy she actually hadn't seen in years, but believed so strongly to be her friend. How strange.

"He what?" Tidus asked, and Wakka just looked confused. News sure traveled slow around here. Everything was slow around here. Not like all the other worlds I'd traveled…

"He fell on the docks, broke a rib." Kairi informed them calmly, used to the story now.

"He's fine." I followed up when neither Wakka nor Tidus seemed sure what to say.

"Wow… that sucks." Tidus came up with eventually. Yeah, it did.

"He _fell_? Riku _fell_? You've gotta be kiddin' me." Wakka laughed, shaking his head. Thinking back on it, okay, maybe it wasn't that great of a cover story. Riku never was the clumsy type.

"He… uh-" I tried to explain, not even sure what I was going to say, but Tidus cut in, a grin on his face.

"Man, he's never gonna live this one down." He was chuckling too now, the tension in the air broken by their teasing.

"What'd he do, finally trip over those puffy pants I always see him wearing?" Rinoa asked.

Selphie giggled, and even Kairi smiled, humoring them. I didn't. I wanted to go back to the hospital. He didn't fall. It wasn't funny. He saved my life…

"Leave him alone." I snapped, surprised when my own voice came out so harsh sounding. Everyone stopped to stare at me. I scratched my head, blushing. Woops.

"I mean… I uh, it's not funny, he's our friend." I finished off lamely, in a deliberately lighter tone. Bad Sora, no yelling at your friends. Go sit in the corner.

"We know Sora, we were just kidding." Selphie assured me, and I nodded frantically, desperate to be out of this situation. I'd never stood before anyone without backup, without at least _knowing _that Donald and Goofy were there to support me, one way or another. Sure, these were my friends. Sure, this wasn't a battle. But what did I know? Battles were all my life had been for the last few years.

"Don't be so sensitive Sora!" Kairi laughed at me. Kairi?

I didn't belong here.

"Yeah, okay, I'm… uh… I'm just, going to go back to the hospital, okay? Visit Riku. He's probably bored. I'll see you guys later." A dramatic exit. I turned on my heel and made a run for it, hearing their confused murmuring behind me. At the top of the bleachers I stopped to look back, waved. They weren't following me. Good.

I jogged most of the way to the hospital. By the time I got there I was sweating and my hair was sticking to my forehead. People in the waiting room stared at me as I passed them by on the way to the elevator. I smiled at a little girl sitting on the same bench Kairi and I had sat on as we'd waited for information on Riku's condition. She looked like she'd been crying. I knew how she felt. I'd be happy when we could finally get Riku out of this place.

Up the elevator, room 306, and finally I was there, just where I wanted to be. No, not in a hospital, not on Destiny Islands, not home. I was there, with Riku.

Who was sleeping. Ah well, you can't have everything in life.

Creeping towards the bed, I gazed down on my closest friend, and just… looked at him, really looked at him. Riku had grown a lot since the last time we'd been together. Changed a lot. His hair was longer, some would say too long, but it was very… him. Riku liked to hide, after all. The long obscuring hair was perfect for that. Did you grow it that way on purpose, Riku?

I reached out my hand, brushing stubborn silver hair away from his forehead. His face was different now, features more angular. His nose was long and thin, lips alluring. Dark eyelashes stood out in stark contrast to pale skin. He was breathtaking...

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, of course.

Riku's forehead scrunched up, wrinkling in confusion as he began to wake, batting at my hand like I was some kind of pest. Maybe I was. Heh.

"Sora…?" Riku murmured, looking up at me with murky blue eyes, confused with sleep and probably pain meds too.

A warm feeling came over me standing over him there. A protective feeling. I worked for this, I fought for this, and now, this was mine. _Mine_.

Rawr.

"Yeah, just me, go back to sleep." I told him, sitting down on the side of the bed. Riku yawned and closed his eyes once again. He usually wouldn't just listen to me like that. Must be tired. It was only eleven. They obviously had him drugged up pretty good.

"Okay…" And then he was out again, clutching my hand in his. I sat with him, just watching him sleep. You'd be amazed how entertaining that can be, watching someone sleep. Or maybe it's just Riku?

I stayed with him until lunch, when a nurse kicked me out.

Kairi never came.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Bwha! Another chappie! Also, in the way of complaints, according to my story alerts list, way more people read this story than review it. Please if you read it, couldn't you find a little something to say about it? It makes me happy.

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

Everyday

Chapter 5

---------------

"How was the soccer match, Sora?" A voice surprised me as I opened the door to my house. Oh. That's right. Mom was home.

"Fine, it was uh… good." I smiled nervously at her. I kept thinking she was going to look at me and realize I wasn't who she thought I was. Realize all those memories she had, they were fakes, lies. I was just waiting for her to say 'Get out! Get out of my house! You're not my son!" And I wasn't, I wasn't who I used to be, who she thought I was. Not after everything I'd been through, everything I'd experienced. I was Sora, but I wasn't anyone's son.

"What would you like for lunch honey?" She hadn't quite figured it out yet.

"Whatever you're making's fine." I told her, because I really couldn't remember what we used to eat. Paopu fruits, I remembered those.

I sat down at the table and watched her as she began to cook. A single mother in a kitchen, preparing a meal for her kid. How normal. How strange. She was making grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Have you been to see Riku yet today?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at me as she flipped a sandwich in the pan. Of course I'd been. I went everyday.

"Yeah, he was sleeping." My mom nodded, her unruly brown hair, much like mine, pulled back in a ponytail, flopping as her head moved. She really was beautiful, people used to say we looked just alike. Used to embarrass the hell out of me. Me? Look like a girl? Pah!

"That's normal. He's been through a lot lately. You shouldn't worry so much sweetie, he'll be fine."

"I'm not worried!" Do I sound like I'm worried? Of course he'd be fine. I was going to make sure of it.

Mom just turned around and gave me a knowing look. I forgot she could do that. I forgot a lot about her, actually.

Somehow it had never been her I'd looked for, never been her I'd missed. It hadn't been her memory I'd held onto fighting Heartless after Heartless, searching for the world I'd lost. It had been my friends. Tough deal for the lady who'd given birth to me, huh? But Riku, Kairi and I, we'd never been all that attached to anyone else. That's why our group dynamic worked so well, why we were so close.

Kairi had no one here. She was from another world, after all. She lived with the Mayor. A nice man, a fair man, but in the end, really just some guy who housed and fed her because no one else could.

I'd never been all that close with my mom, and when my father died… well, suffice is to say, I grew up a lot on my own. It wasn't that we didn't get along, just that we didn't care much for each other. Although, in the present my mother certainly was acting much more… well, _motherly_. I wondered how our relationship had changed in this world over the years that I hadn't been here.

And Riku, well, Riku had never been the type to be told what to do. Even at 14 his fights with his father had been epic. Sometimes he'd spent nights sleeping in the hut on the island instead of going home. He always had been stubborn. Still was. His mother had always seemed nice, but he brushed her off. He didn't want her coddling.

"Here." My mom said, startling me. She set a grilled sandwich in front of me with a smile. "Eat this, and stop worrying. Everything will turn out just fine."

"I'm not-" I protested, but she was already gone. How did she do that?

"By the way," Mom called from the other room. "Kairi stopped by earlier looking for you. I told her I'd send you her way."

"Yeah… great."

---------------

I went to Kairi's house after lunch. I didn't want to go, but I did.

"Sora, I was looking for you." I don't think I'd ever been angry with Kairi before. Well, not really. Sure, when we were younger, we fought over stupid things, who won a race, who got the last coconut. But really fought with her, really been angry with her? No. Then again, we hadn't seen each other much since we were 14. Things change.

We were growing up.

"I told you I was going to the hospital." Stay firm, Sora.

"I know… why'd you leave like that?" She gave me a disapproving look, frowning.

"I just…" Kairi had beautiful hair. So much like when we were kids. It used to gleam in the sun as she'd run on the beach with Riku and I, trying to be one of the guys, trying to fit in… "Look, it's not important, okay." Dammit.

"Yeah… okay… you want to go to the park with me?" She asked, giving me a sheepish smile, and I forgave her. No one's perfect, right?

"Sure."

Kairi waved to the mayor, who was sitting on the couch, reading. He looked up at us and nodded, then went back to his book. He didn't seem concerned.

We walked to the park in awkward silence. She reached for my hand, and I held hers gently in my grasp, but it didn't feel right.

"So… Riku's getting out tomorrow…" A pathetic attempt at conversation, but at least I tried.

"Yeah." Kairi nodded, deep in thought. Not the ecstatic response I was hoping for…

"Sora… do you think…"

"Hm?"

"Don't you think we should spend some time together, you know, before Riku comes home tomorrow?" She suggested, blushing slightly and looking down at her feet.

Huh?

"We are." I said, gesturing to the park around us. What? We were.

"No, I mean… you know what I mean." She sighed, stopping to lean against an old oak tree, toeing the ground. I stared at her curiously. Sometimes you confuse me Kairi…

"No, I don't." Or maybe I did. "Kairi, I already told you I don't want to go to the island until-" I started, then stopped. No, that wasn't what she wanted either. I was quite, and Kairi took in a deep, steadying breath.

"Come on Sora, there's a new movie out." She looked up then, smiling at me coyly. Okaaay.

"You want to go to a movie. Today. Without Riku?" Was that it?

"Yes." She nodded enthusiastically. _Good_ Sora, now you're getting it.

"…Alright. What are we going to see?" Please god, let it not be a chick flick.

So I followed Kairi and her strange mood from the park to the movie theater. And then from the theater to an ice cream parlor in the mall. It was the best on the mainland, she assured me. They didn't have Sea-Salt Ice Cream though.

The movie was okay…it had plot, at least. Action. Kairi seemed happy, so that was good. It didn't feel right without Riku sitting there. All three of us. Oh well, we'd have that again soon.

I remembered some of the movies we'd been to see when we were younger. Some popular movies, some comedies, even some romances that Kairi had talked us into, but mostly action movies. Riku always liked the bad guys best, and I always loved the heroes. I wondered what he'd think now. I wondered if I could even get Riku _into _a movie theater now. He seemed so… detached.

Kairi and I laughed and talked on the way to the ice cream place, Kairi holding my hand all the way there, pulling me along. Riku and I used to fight over her, pushing each other out of the way to hold her hand. It would always be the same hand too. Never mind that she had another one. We always had to have the hand the other guy wanted. Heh.

I got chocolate ice cream. Kairi got strawberry. We sat at a table as other teenagers milled around. It was nice… I guess. It was ice cream.

After awhile, I walked Kairi home, even though I still wasn't sure how to get to my house on my own. Instead of going inside though, she sat down on the porch bench.

"I'm really glad we went out today Sora." She looked up at me with bright blue eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah sure, anytime Kairi."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah, of course! You're my best friend."

She sighed at that, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at me. Wrong answer? "Goodnight Sora."

"'Night!" I said, skipping off her porch and walking away from her home. When I turned to look back at her house from the street she was still sitting there, rocking on the porch bench.

---------------

Friday morning was slow coming. I woke up continuously during the night, once even giving up on sleep and going downstairs to watch cartoons. That is, until the noise woke mom up and she lectured me right back up to bed.

When 7:00 AM finally came around, I was already fully dressed, fed, and jumping in my shoes, ready to make a mad dash for the hospital.

Riku was getting out of the hospital today. Never mind that we didn't know what time he was getting out. Never mind that he would have to go home with his parents. Never mind that he'd probably spend all day in bed. Never mind all of that. Riku was coming home today.

I left the house at 7:00, I got to the hospital by 7:15. On foot. Yeah.

"My friend's getting out today." I told the lady at the front desk. She nodded dubiously. Said nothing. Why had I told her that? Oh well.

I took the stairs at a run up to room 306. Everything looked that same, but it wasn't. The whole world was about to change.

"Riku!" I called before even entering his room. The silver haired boy was sitting up as I crossed the threshold, considerably more alert than yesterday. He was staring at me with one raised eyebrow. I must have been grinning like an idiot. Ah well, he was probably used to it by now.

"You've up early. Or is it late?" He quipped as I bounced down by his feet on the hospital bed.

"_Early_." I wasn't much of a morning person, I'll admit, but I'm not _that_ bad. "You're getting out today, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." He muttered, a deep frown set on his face. Somehow I was hoping he'd be more excited about this.

"Come on, cheer up. You're finally gonna get to hang out with the famous _Sora_ again." I kidded, pulling my finger back just a second before poking him in the ribs. Erg, I was going to have to control those impulses.

Riku didn't appear amused.

"Don't you want to come back?" Aren't you as happy to see me as I am to see you?

"Back to _what_, Sora?" The passion in his voice surprised me. "What's here anymore? Some strangers who call themselves my family. Some children who call themselves my friends. Some buildings and streets that lead nowhere that used to be my home? What is there to go back to?" He was breathing hard, jaw clenched tightly as he stared down at his hands, never looking up at me. Riku…

What was here? Really? Nothing we really recognized anymore. A ghost town of old memories, old friends, old places. Things we'd long given up for the greater good. And now that we were back, none of it fit anymore.

But it's not about where you are, it's about who you're with, right Riku? You told me that. Don't you remember?

"I'm here." He looked up at me, eyes shimmering with emotion. Passion, anger frustration, but never tears. Riku never cried. Maybe he should have.

"Yeah…but why are you here?" So many questions. Couldn't he just accept that this was home? Destiny Islands was where we came from, and it was where we all belonged in the end…right?

Really, the only reason I'm sure I'm hear is because this is where Riku is. He told me it two nights ago and it's engrained in my head now. I'm here because Riku is. So, loophole. But at the time when I was confused, Riku comforted me, so even if I don't know that we belong? I could comfort him too.

"We belong here Riku. I know we do." As long as we have each other.

I moved up to the top of the bed, putting a reassuring arm around his shoulders and snuggling down into the small hospital bed so that both our bodies fit comfortably. Riku sighed and rested his head on my shoulder.

"It'll be okay, you'll see." I told him, even though I wasn't so sure myself. It's what he needed to hear though. It's what I would have wanted to hear. In fact, it was nice to hear it at all, even coming from my own lips.

Did we belong here? Hell, I didn't know. This place was strange and unfamiliar. More so than any other world I had traveled because I had _expected_ to recognize it. But if we didn't belong, at least we were together.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Sorry that took a bit. It's summer, I'm less productive. ; But better late than never! Chapter 6 has arrived. p

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

Everyday

Chapter 6

---------------

"Rise and shine boys, time to check out." A cheery voice awakened me.

Ugh, not right now, don't want to get up. So tired, didn't sleep at all last night… I snuggled down deeper into the haze of dreams surrounding me.

Tired…

Comfortable…

Warm… I wiggled around in my bed, feeling unusually restrained. Something wasn't right…

My pillow. I kneaded it with my fingers, pushing at it to get it into the right position. It didn't work. Stupid pillow, why won't you… I grunted and punched it roughly.

My pillow groaned. Hah, that'll show it.

"Sora, you asshole…" My pillow retaliated, a hard fist coming down over my head. Ouch! Not cool.

I slowly cracked one eye open to give the pillow a glare. It looked a bit different that usual, floral patter pillowcase replaced with a very real simulation of my best friend. I couldn't complain. Riku _was_ pretty. He didn't make a very cooperative bedtime accessory though.

"Sora, get _off." _His voice was quiet, deadly. A deadly Riku is a bad thing._ That_ woke me up. Oh crap.

It's hard to describe our positions exactly, or how we got into them. Hell, I don't even remember falling asleep. But suffice is to say, they were a bit… provocative, embarrassing… _bad_. My legs were wrapped haphazardly around his, my knee in a place where it _definitely_ should not have been. That which I had believed to be my pillow was actually Riku's chest. I was sleeping, drooling actually, on Riku's chest.

Riku himself was tense beneath me, stiff as a board. He was glaring, his cheeks bright red.

"Ehehehe, oops?" So sorry Riku, didn't mean to molest you in my sleep… even if you do look pretty funny embarrassed like this. It was pretty hard to embarrass Riku. I would have to store this little incident aware for future reference.

"So sorry." I laughed nervously, quickly untangling myself and standing up, taking a few safe steps away from the bed. There. See? Never happened. Nice Sora. No kill.

Riku just stared.

"Boys…" Both of us looked up at that. Riku's mom was leaning in the doorway, smiling at us weakly like we did this sort of thing all the time. Maybe in this world, we did. Heh, that would be funny. Weird, but funny.

"It's time to come home." She smiled.

Ah, home. Riku and I looked to each other for a stiff moment, then we both shrugged, and as he rose from the bed, I grabbed his hand.

---------------

I'd forgotten what Riku's house was like. I'd only been there a few times in the past. It was big. Big and empty. His parents were wealthy, and they didn't have great decorating style. I bet if you yelled, your voice would echo off the walls. Riku and his dad used to do a lot of yelling, so I guess these walls did a lot of echoing.

Riku's parents tried to help him up to his room while I followed along feeling useless. He wasn't on crutches, but he walked pretty stiffly, and the stairs were a problem. He didn't want their help, otherwise things could have been a lot easier. As it was, by the time we got to his room, Riku was about ready to drop. No strenuous activity my ass. That boy just can't accept help from anyone.

I'd never seen his room before. It wasn't empty like the rest of the house, but it wasn't cluttered either. There were maps on the walls, a sign of how adventures he'd always been. Weapons on display, I'm sure his parents disapproved. And pictures. Pictures of me. Pictures of Kairi. That made me smile. I'd never seen Riku as the sentimental type.

He groaned

"Here, lie down." I said, shaking my head fondly. "You should have let someone help you."

"Don't need help." He muttered, but lied down anyway. Yeah, right.

It wasn't as if Riku couldn't get by on his own, wasn't self-sufficient. It's just… everybody needs help sometimes, you know? I taught him that once. I guess he forgot. It was going to be hard to teach him again. Riku never was the trusting type. Living on his own in the darkness, I couldn't really blame him. He'd been completely self-reliant for the last two years. It must have been odd to suddenly be surrounded by people who cared about you. Odd, but nice, I hoped.

"You want any of these?" I asked, beginning to unpack the bag the hospital had sent home with him. There were wraps, ace bandages, ointments and creams, and most importantly, bottles of pain medication.

"No." He said tersely, stretching out on the bed. No? I stared at him. He stared back. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "This is the first time I've felt coherent in days. Leave it alone Sora."

"Fine. You'll take some later then." I said with a nod, finishing unpacking all his meds. Riku just snorted, trying to get comfortable on his bed.

"What are you, my mother?" He quipped. No, you wouldn't dare let your mother fuss over you like this, would you Riku?

"Maybe." I answered, grinning. "Do you want me to read you a bedtime story Rikuuuu?"

"Shut up!" He threw a pillow at me. I threw it back.

"Once upon a time, in a land far far away-"

"Sora, I swear!"

"-there was a _beautiful_ princess who lived in a tower. And her name, was Princess Riku. Now, Princess Riku was deeply in love-" _That_ got him out of bed. Screw his ribs, Riku came flying across the room, tackling me to the ground, one hand pressed firmly over my mouth.

"Umph urg um ptt." I told him, trying to continue with my story. It was a good story. Full of adventure, action, romance and heartbreak. He would have liked it if he'd only given it a chance. Really.

"No! No more story!" Riku commanded. Well, obviously. He had his hand over my mouth, I couldn't exactly continue. Jeez.

We lay there for a few moments, me given up on my story, and Riku not trusting to take his hand off my mouth. That's when I realize Riku was stretched out, full body length on top of me. With every breath his chest expanded into mine. His legs pinned me to the ground, one hand over my mouth, the other clutching my forearm. It was… odd. We did it all the time when we were kids. It was different now.

I stared.

Apparently, Riku realized the uncomfortable position as well, because he coughed, and I could feel his muscles tense as he removed his hand from my mouth. He stared at the carpet next to my head like it had the answers to the universe. Maybe it did. I checked the ceiling. Nope.

Minutes passed. Neither of us moved.

Well, it wasn't my fault. I _couldn't_ move, he had me pinned. I might be stronger than him in a fight, but he was a lot bigger than me… and then there was the little matter of not really wanting to move.

Riku was blushing though, getting redder by the second. Usually that would be pretty funny, but right now I felt sort of bad. Probably because I was getting some sort of guilty pleasure out of this. Why didn't he just…

"Um, Riku, you can get off now…" He just glared at the carpet, blushing hard. Okaaay.

"Seriously, no more story. I'll think of a new one..." He coughed. Looked at the bed, looked back at the floor. Uh huh…

He shifted a little. Then nothing. The Jeopardy song started playing in my head. Na nuh na nuh…

Why did I feel like he was waiting for me to say something? He was the one who had _me_ tackled. This isn't _my_ fault. It's wasn't!

His hand was getting sweaty on my forearm.

"…Riku?" You still alive over there?

"That… um…" Yeeees? Can you explain why you're still laying on me here, because, hello, losing blood circulation.

"That hurt." He finished lamely, staring at the carpet for all he was worth.

Oh.

Ohhhh!

Heh, Riku needed my help.

I will not make a big deal out of this. I will not make a big deal out of this. I will not make a big deal out of this…

"Here, let me." I told him a bit too cheerfully perhaps, pushing him gently off me and rolling him onto his back. Now he was staring at the ceiling instead of the carpet. Hey, change of scenery.

"Can you sit up?" I asked, slipping an arm behind his back. He grunted. That would be a 'no'.

"Okay." Guess it's up to me then.

I slipped my other hand under his knees and lifted him up to my chest like a child. It must have looked weird, him being so much bigger than me, but I'm strong, I'm the Keyblade Master, I can take care of him. See?

Riku didn't make any noises of complaint, just winced and shuddered rather strangely when I lay him back down on the bed. Idiot shouldn't have gotten up in the first place…oh don't you look at me like that! It's not my fault he tackled me! I was just telling a nice little bedtime story! Riku's the one who decided to get violent! Jeez.

"Ready for that pain medication now?" I asked, but didn't wait for an answer, instead going for the bottle and taking out a pill. "Want some water?"

Riku just took the pill from my hand, swallowing it dry. Ick.

I sat down on the edge of his bed, messing with the blankets and trying to make him comfortable. He looked pale. I felt a little bad.

"Sora."

"Huh?"

"Go home."

"What?" Huh?

"Go home." Said coldly, finally. I didn't get it. Why was he angry? I hadn't done anything wrong! Had I?

"But… I…" I protested.

"Go _home_!"

I went home.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Arg! It's taking me so long to write, and I'm not even sure what I'm writing is good. sigh I've got some serious writer's block, sorry guys. Don't worry if it takes me awhile to update, I'm not abandoning the story. Be nice and review, make my day better?

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

Everyday

Chapter 7

---------------

I stayed home.

I ran there after the encounter with Riku, and I didn't leave the house for the rest of the day. Or the next day. Or the next.

By Monday, my mom was fed up with me.

"Sora, I'm tired of you moping around all day! You need to get out, be with your friends. Kairi's desperate to see you. If I tell her you can't come to the door one more time she's certain to burst!"

"I know Mom… I'm not moping." I muttered, flipping channels on the television. It'd been a long time since I could just sit somewhere and watch television. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

"Two hundred channels and nothing to watch…" I sighed to myself. She must have heard me, because my mom snatched the remote from my hand, turning the TV off with a final click.

"Outside!" She said, pointing to the door. The door stared back at me ominously. It's bright outside.

Door to the light.

"No." I should have stayed in the darkness. _We_ should have stayed in the darkness. I don't know why we had to open that damn door. I'm not dumb, I'm not opening any more doors.

"Sora!" My mother sighed but moved on, taking the TV controller with her. I stared at the blank screen, it was much more interesting than the show I had been watching before.

I stayed there for quite awhile, just looking at the television. If you stare at something long enough, it starts to look odd, like you've never seen it before. If you think about Riku long enough, sometimes he takes his clothes off.

"Sora! Where have you been?" Ah. My mother had let her in. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Kairi. It was just that… well… I didn't want to see Kairi. "I've been looking-"

"Have you been to see Riku?" I cut her off, finally looking up from the blank TV screen. Has he said anything about me? Is he angry at you too? Is he just generally _angry_? Because I wasn't getting it, really. I knew Riku hated being weak and I knew he didn't like accepting people's help, but I wasn't _people_, I was Sora. His best friend.

We are still best friends, aren't we Riku?

I hadn't wanted to see Kairi, but… it was sort of nice to anyway. She was beautiful, familiar. She was Kairi…

"Yeah, he didn't know where you were either." If only she could learn to keep her mouth shut.

"I've been right here Kairi." I comforted her, finally turning all the way around to face her and giving her a half-hearted smile. I could do this, I could be happy for Kairi. She was just a girl, after all.

She wasn't a warrior. She didn't fight the heartless and she didn't understand what it was like. She was the princess, we were the soldiers, and we'd always be separated by that.

"Oh… well, I'm glad." She smiled and sat down next to me, snuggling into my side. "I was worried about you."

"Thanks Kairi." I smiled genuinely that time. It was nice to have someone worry about you. Donald and Goofy used to. I didn't have that anymore. But I had Kairi. And Riku… sort of.

I hoped I had Riku, but I wasn't so sure after Friday's ordeal. What was with him, anyway? One minute he was fine, and the next… I didn't know. All I knew was that I refused to lose my friendship with him now that I finally had him back.

"Sora… what are we watching?"

---------------

"How come you wouldn't come see me Sora?" Kairi asked hours later, after she'd promptly turned on the TV at my insistence that the blank screen was actually a Spanish soap opera. I had yet to learn the fate of Carlos. "You're mom kept sending me away."

"No reason." I muttered, frowning at the TV.

"Were you with Riku?" She asked after a few moments of silence. Yeah, I was, but…

"No." A good answer, a final answer. An answer that said 'stop asking questions Kairi, I don't feel like talking.'

It didn't work.

"So, did you two get in a fight, or something?" Kairi asked.

"Or something. Why?" We hadn't fought. We'd been perfectly civil. Friendly. Then Riku had glared at me kicked me out of his house, loudly… Was that a fight?

"You just seem strange, that's all." Strange, me? I wasn't strange, it was this whole place that was strange. It was Kairi that was strange, Riku that was strange.

"How so?"

"Just… different." So she'd noticed it too. Not hard to believe. I was different. It was glaringly obvious against such a normal background. I stood out like a sore thumb.

"I am different Kairi. I've changed, you know…" I tried to explain. How could you not change, with everything I'd been through? People grow and change as time passes, and time seemed to be moving at a warp speed for me, ever since I'd been thrown off the island.

"That's not what I meant…" Kairi frowned, her forehead scrunched in thought, eyebrows pushed together. It was cute. "Riku and you used to fight all the time. I just… You never really got along that great. I don't see why you're so upset now." She reasoned. I opened my mouth to respond, thought a moment, and then snapped it shut, realizing I had nothing to say.

Why_ was_ I so upset? Riku and I fought. It was what we did. We competed and fought constantly. That's the way things had been before we'd left the island. Why had I expected them to be any different now?

So what if we were older. Our relationships were still basically the same, they certainly hadn't had time to grow. Riku was hurt now. Once he was better, it would be back to him and me, competing for Kairi's attention. Just like always.

Somehow, that was the single most depressing thought I'd had all week.

And if not that, what, exactly, had I been expecting?

"I don't know Kairi, I don't know."

---------------

I stayed in my house on Tuesday. My sanctuary. Kairi didn't bother me. I idly considered going to see Riku before disregarding the idea.

My mother had grown used to my presence, my 'moping' as she called it. She cleaned the house around me, vacuuming around my feet and leaving me to watch the television mindlessly.

We stopped talking. Or, more precisely, I stopped talking, and she stopped asking me questions. I wondered how quiet this house had been all the years I'd been gone. I suppose she didn't remember. Silence reigned.

On Wednesday afternoon, while mom was at work, a miracle happened. Riku showed up at my front door.

I was wearing pajama bottoms and no shirt. My hair was tangled and dirty. I stared at his shiny silver hair, perfectly combed and his pristine clothes, wrapped around well muscled arms as if he were a god.

Riku, God of… um…I'll get back to you on that. I'm a little busy right now.

I was scruffy, a mess, and he was perfectly clothed and golden before me. I was Sora, and he was Riku.

"You haven't been to see me." He frowned. The first words from his lips. I'd missed- Wait… what?

"_See_ you? You kicked me out!" I hadn't meant to say it like that. I hadn't meant to say it at all actually. Sometimes, Riku just made me so mad…

"Yeah, well, that was on Friday." He said, crossing his arms protectively in front of his chest.

"Yeah, so!" I snapped, crossing my own arms. He glared. I glared back. We had a glaring match. I'm not sure who won.

"I didn't mean…" He muttered finally. Then stopped.

"You didn't mean what?" I prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean…" He frowned. "I…"

"Yeah?" I glared.

"It's your fault anyway!" He yelled finally, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"_My_ fault! What did _I_ do!" I snapped, amazed at his audacity. Can you believe that? Yeah, this is how Riku and I get into fights. He yells, I yell, we both stop thinking anything even slightly logical, and it all goes to hell.

"If you weren't so, so…!" He tried to explain.

"So _what_ Riku? What is it about me that's so horrible you just can't stand to have me in your company." I shouted back, feeling tears in my eyes. I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't a baby anymore.

"So… So damn _pretty_! None of this would have happened!" He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

Wait… say that one again?

"Sorry… what?" I squeaked, just barely.

But Riku just sighed and shook his head. The fight was over, the adrenalin gone. "Just forget it, okay Sora?"

"I…" I don't know if I can… I don't know if I even want to.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Riku said, looking at me from under his eyelashes, which was odd, since he's so much taller than I am.

"Yeah… okay." You didn't get an apology from Riku very often. In fact, I wasn't sure I'd ever gotten one. I'd be a fool not to accept it.

Whatever he'd said, whatever he'd meant, he was sorry, and he obviously wanted to try again. And I just wanted things to go back to normal. Well, as normal as they could be, under the circumstances.

"Want to watch the coolest station on television?" I asked him, already leading him towards the couch.

"Sure, what is it?" He asked, clutching my hand a little too tightly in his own.

"This." I turned the TV off, and we both sat there, staring at the blank screen.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: 11 day wait, better than last time, right? I love all the reviews from last chapter. You guys really cheered me up. Thanks. hugs for all

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

Everyday

Chapter 8

---------------

"Sora, I'm home!" My mom called much too loudly as the front door swung open. She was dressed in her work clothes, typical nurse's uniform, her hair pulled back out of her face as always. It was late, but she worked a late shift.

"Shh!" I berated her, looking over my shoulder from my spot on the couch and glaring.

"Hmm? What, are Marco and Maria at it again?" She asked, noticing the blank TV screen.

"His name's Carlos, Mom, and no. Riku's sleeping." I informed her, tilting my head towards Riku's prone form. He was leaning against my shoulder, silver hair splayed out over the both of us. Eyes closed and one hand resting limply on my leg. I wasn't sure how it had gotten there. I wasn't complaining.

"Oh good!" My mother cried, and I cringed. "You made up!"

"Mom, be quite." I hissed, and Riku moaned on my shoulder. "He's _sleeping_."

My mom rolled her eyes and walked past us into the kitchen, setting her things down on the table, as she always did. That was how our house got so cluttered. It was a mess, not like Riku's huge, empty place. Maybe that was okay.

"Fine, dear, I'll leave you two alone." She commented as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom, pointedly not looking at the two of us, snuggled on the couch.

Riku made a small noise and moved a bit, his eyelids fluttering, showing the first signs of wakefulness in four hours.

He'd fallen asleep maybe half an hour after he'd gotten here. You could say it was my creative choice of a television station, but I think he was just tired from our fight and his injuries, the silence making it easy to sleep. He'd been leaning on me at the time, leaving me efficiently stuck for the duration. Four hours was a long time to think. I had a lot to think about.

I still couldn't settle on a reason for our argument. Riku was moody, he always had been, but there had to be some explanation for his outburst, however small, right? Right.

No matter how hard I though on it, I kept coming back to that one statement.

'_If you weren't so damn pretty!'_

…

Dammit! What did that mean? He was angry at me because I was _pretty_! Come on Riku, even you're not _that_ weird!

And even if thought I had an idea what he meant, I… it just seemed like wishful thinking, was all. Me and my dreams, screwing up reality to look like something it wasn't. I mean… it wasn't, right?

"Your mom's too damn noisy." A hoarse voice muttered, nearly making me jump out of my skin. "Jeez Sora, forget about me already?" Riku snorted, sitting up and stretching his long, muscular arms gracefully.

"No!" I laughed, scratching my head self-consciously. I was just too busy thinking about you to notice you, is all.

"I should go." He sighed, melting back into the couch. Yeah Riku, you look like you're going real soon. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. "What time is it?"

I looked around, but I didn't see a clock. "6-ish?"

He looked at his watch. "It's 8:13 Sora."

"Same difference." I muttered, knocking him outside the head. Why was he asking me for the time if he had a watch anyway?

"Mm." Riku muttered, apparently agreeing, letting his head fall back on the couch, exposing his slim neck. Even his throat was beautiful, pale and slender, muscles well defined and exposed... I felt sort of like a vampire, admiring it. Mmm… tasty Riku…

"So…" Bad Sora, no vampy thoughts!

"Uh?"

"We're friends again, right?" I asked, just to confirm, and maybe to get a little more information out of him about the fight. Just a few more words, just a hint. _Something._ Riku frowned, little lines showing up around the corners of his lips.

"_Yeah_ Sora." He snapped. Obviously I was ruining the mood. I couldn't shut myself up though. Common problem among teenagers… Was I a teenager?

"What did you mean, when-"

"I'm going home." He cut me off, lifting himself heavily from the couch. Dammit Riku, not again!

He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder at me. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He left before I could answer. I wasn't sure what my answer would have been anyway.

---------------

As it turned out, Riku had been 'moping', as my mother would have said, for the last few days as well, not leaving his room and refusing to see any of his old friends. So Kairi and I agreed Thursday morning to take him out and meet up with Selphie and the others.

Riku wasn't exactly in on the plan.

"Where are we going?" He asked for the third time, watching me out of the corner of his eyes while Kairi pulled him reluctantly along down the street.

"You'll see! Jeez, you guys have no sense of adventure." Kairi sighed, completely serious. I snorted a laugh, and even Riku smiled my way. Our whole lives were an adventure. One big, screwed up, hell of an adventure

I don't think he knew where we were going, even when we got to the front door step. It could have been Kairi's house, for all he remembered. I knew the feeling well.

Before Kairi even had a chance to knock the front door swung open and there stood a hyper brunette, Selphie.

"Guys! I'm glad you're here!" She cried, throwing her arms around a smiling Kairi. I watched Riku for his reaction. He just looked lost. I moved to stand next to him.

"Riku!" Selphie gasped, finally letting go of Kairi. "I'm so glad you're okay. You've been in the hospital forever." She gave him a welcoming smile, but luckily didn't go to hug him, as he didn't look like he would have liked it. In fact, he looked rather homicidal, at the moment. "Wakka and Tidus are here too. We've all been really worried." She said, leading us into the house. Kairi followed first, with Riku lagging behind and me keeping an eye on him.

Riku was stiff as a board, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. His must have recognized Selphie, but it didn't seem to put him at ease. He didn't say anything to her. His hair was hanging down in front of his eyes, its exact purpose, blocking his expression from view, but I could feel the tension coming off him in waves. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Tidus! Wakka! Look who's here." Selphie called, walking us into her living room, where the two others were sitting in front of the television, playing a video game. Tidus looked over his shoulder.

"Hey man! Glad to see you back!" He said, nodding at Riku. Wakka turned at the comment, his brown eyes going wide.

"Oy! It's you!" He gasped, like it was some amazing discovery. Maybe it was, to him. Wakka jumped up, dropping his game controller as Tidus played on, standing before Riku. They were about the same height now, but you could tell from the look in Wakka's eyes that he still looked up to Riku, at least figuratively. He shifted back and forth on his feet, looking like he might want to give Riku a hug, but knowing better from the look on Riku's face.

"You're uh… better then?" Wakka asked. Riku just stared him down for a few long moments of silence, making him all the more uncomfortable. Then he gave on stiff nod.

"That's good. I-"

"Hah! You died!" Tidus called from over on the couch, and we all looked up to see Wakka's character fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Tidus then proceeded to do what one might have called a 'victory dance'. I call it the most frightening thing I've ever seen, including Xemnas. In fact, the Heartless paled in comparison.

Dear god, my eyes!

"That's not fair, I wasn't even playin'!" Wakka complained, plopping down next to Tidus once again and picking up his discarded controller. Selphie just giggled.

Riku seemed more comfortable with all eyes off him, except mine, or course. He was searching the room, his gaze swiftly taking in everything around him, as if this new place couldn't possibly be safe. He doesn't think anything's coming, not consciously, but it's programmed into him, us. I do it too, no matter where I am, I'm always ready for battle.

"Relax." I reassured him, catching his attention. Riku stared at me, bright blue eyes confused, and I just shrugged and sat down on the floor next to the couch. After a moment, he sat down next to me.

"This is Selphie's place, remember?" I asked, maybe a bit too cheerfully. Hey, at least I was trying.

"No." Oh. Okay.

"You remember Selphie though, right?" It hadn't been_ that_ long.

"Yeah. She's got breasts now." He stated, perfectly monotone. I gaped. He glanced over sideways at me, then smirked.

I did the only thing I could do. I burst out laughing.

Everyone stared. Obviously, they hadn't heard the joke. All for the better, I'm sure. Selphie wouldn't have appreciated it.

"Sora, come sit with us." Kairi said, rolling her eyes at me from where she sat on the love seat next to the couch, where Wakka and Tidus were playing. I didn't want to move, but… I glanced at Riku for a moment, watching to see his reaction, but I got nothing, so I shrugged.

"Sure." I said, moving to sit next to her. Riku's eyes followed me across the room. Kairi immediately snuggled into my side as I sat down on the two-person couch.

"Your hair is such a mess Sora." Kairi giggled quietly, lifting one small hand to touch my unruly brown locks. Hey, it wasn't that bad. I kind of liked my hair, thank you very much. It was… perky. Or something. "Don't you ever brush it?" She stroked my hair smoothly. I shivered. It made me… uncomfortable.

"What are we doing here?" Riku snapped loudly, catching everyone's attention, but his eyes were directly on me. Me and Kairi.

"We're here to see our friends Riku. Jeez." Kairi laughed, frowning derisively at him. He wasn't paying attention though. His eyes are blazing hot, jealous, and he was staring straight at me.

Straight at my hair.

Straight at her hand, stroking my hair.

…

Well what do you know.

Maybe it wasn't wishful thinking, after all.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Hm… That… I don't know, quite how that went. At least it's a little longer than usual, I guess? What do you guys think?

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

Everyday

Chapter 9

---------------

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

Tidus and Wakka were sitting on the couch, playing some stupid action packed video game. They watched the screen intently, completely focused on obliterating the enemy. It was nothing like a real battle. They didn't know anything. That was a good thing, I guess. I felt a sort of dislike of them for it anyway.

Selphie was chatting quietly with Kairi, giggling every so often and glancing at me. Girl talk. Something I'd never really been able to figure out, and never really wanted to. No guy did. Maybe they were organizing plans to exterminate the entire male race. Who knew?

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

I was sitting on the back of the couch, swinging my legs nervously. The clock ticked the minutes away.

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

"I'm going to look for him." I declared, jumping off the couch with decision. It was too peaceful, too boring. I was full of energy and purpose. I couldn't just sit and stare at nothing like this, especially with Riku gone.

"He's _fine_ Sora, he's just being moody. If you go after him, you'll just fight." Kairi stressed, frowning at me from her position next to Selphie.

"He's been gone-" I glanced at the hated clock "Almost half an hour. Someone should go look for him." Had I really just been sitting there, staring into space for half an hour?

"_Sora_." Kairi sighed, coming to sit down next to me. "All you've been doing for the last few weeks is going to see Riku. You _have_ other friends, you know." She snapped, blue eyes flashing.

"I know, I'm sorry Kairi, but…" I didn't really have a 'but', so I just stopped there. Kairi glared and sat up, twirling around and leaving the room. Great, now I'd pissed them both off. Nice going, Sora my man.

"I… um…" I mumbled, scratching my head as Selphie stared at me. "Go make sure she's okay, alright?" I asked the brunette, itching to leave the house. Selphie just sighed.

"You really are clueless Sora." She told me, following Kairi into the kitchen. I watched her go. Eh. It would all blow over, right? Right.

Besides, I needed to find Riku.

Outside Selphie's house the afternoon was crisp and warm. It felt freeing from the processed, air-conditioned atmosphere of living room. I felt free. Life was much better outside Selphie's living room, I decided.

Where to search, where to search, where to search? Riku could be anywhere, and I didn't even know my way around this place. 'This place' being our much beloved home, of course.

I had an advantage though, Riku didn't know his way around either. You know when they say, 'to find someone, you have to think like them'? I figured it wasn't going to be too hard in that respect. We were a lot alike, Riku and I.

I started walking.

Just after his moment of apparent hatred for Kairi's hand and my hair, Riku had stormed out of Selphie's house, leaving no apparent clue as to his direction. I wasn't sure where he was, but I knew he wouldn't go home. Home wasn't a sanctuary to Riku. Usually when he was upset, Riku would go to the island, but he didn't even know how to get there anymore, not really. I didn't think he'd risk getting lost on the way there. At least, the idiot has better not.

The real question was, why was he upset? Because Kairi had touched my hair? Told me it was a mess? Yep, that had to be it. No one insulted the hair!

Okay, maybe not.

"Looking for me?" A voice, out of the trees, by the seashore.

I jumped. Really. You know when someone says they almost jumped out of their skin? There was no 'almost' about this. I actually jumped, spun around, and assumed a defensive stance, which would have been much more effective, had the Keyblade shown up. It didn't.

No more Keyblade, no more Heartless, no more fighting. Jeez, haven't you got it yet Sora? My, you're slow.

We were on the beach. I don't remember walking there, but it was the obvious place for him to be. Riku was sitting in the sand, leaning up against a palm tree, staring out at the ocean.

"Yeah." I managed to squeak out, dropping my defensive posture. Easy Sora, no Heartless here. Just Riku and a few helpless seagulls… though, I'd never really liked seagulls. Hmm…

"Well… what do you want?" He snapped, looking over his shoulder at me expectantly.

Err, what do I want? I don't know. I thought you knew, Riku. Isn't that why you led me all the way out here? Isn't that why you keep dropping all these weird comments and odd looks to keep me following you? Yapping at your heels like a lost puppy for another sign that maybe, just _maybe_, you like me as more than a friend, when I'm not even sure if I like you that way, or if I _want_ to.

"Your hand's bleeding." I informed him dully, giving him the once over. He didn't look so put together now, so perfect. His hair was messed by the wind, his clothes winkled and strewn with sand, his hand bleeding, dripping on the beach. It was rare to come across Riku when he didn't look perfect, steel, cold as ice. Riku didn't _do_ vulnerable.

"Punched a tree." He muttered, examining his hand with vague disinterest.

"Who won?" I asked sarcastically, slumping down next to him.

"Kairi."

"What?"

"Tree, tree won." He amended, still examining his hand.

"And that has _what_ to do with Kairi?" I questioned, taking his hand in my own and flexing his fingers. None of them seemed broken, so I reached into my pocket and offered him a potion. He didn't take it.

"You figure it out." Riku snapped, seeming to gain some momentum, jumping to his feet.

"I don't want to figure it out Riku," I snapped, rising to my own feet, staring at him dead on. "So why don't you just tell me." I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Classic defensive posture. He did the same. We had another staring contest. How do you figure out who wins these things? Finally, Riku looked to the ground, his eyes focusing on a solid branch that's fallen from the tree.

"Let's fight."

"We… are." Aren't we? Because I think we are. This definitely qualifies as conversation of the not friendly kind in my book.

"No." He said, rolling his eyes. "Let's _fight_." He picked up the branch and threw it at my feet, then found another, grabbing it in his own two hands.

Oh. _Ohhhh._

"Okay." I grinned, grabbing the tree branch up off the ground. It was heavy and stiff in my grip and the bark was scraping on my gloves, but it felt right.

Riku attacked first, taking a long swift swing for my side, I blocked, parried, and he grinned. It was on.

I was rusty, I hadn't fought since Xemnas, not even to practice. Hell, I didn't even have a weapon to practice with. I had a stick.

Every time out weapons met bark went flying. Riku had already lost the tip of his crude bat, making it sharp and all the more effective. It was a defensive game, full of blocks, jumps, parries and rolls in the sand. The beach around us was covered in footprints, ditches, drops of blood from his still injured hand, signs of a struggle.

There was sand all over the place. Our hair, our clothes, our hands, even our eyes. It was all part of the game. If you couldn't see, would you still be able to fight?

Riku swung for my head and I blocked. His branch snapped in two. For a moment he was surprised, caught off guard. It was all I needed. I brought my branch down hard into his shoulder and knocked him to the ground, throwing myself down for a tackle. He tried to roll out from under me, but my branch blocked him in. I was grinning.

I won.

Riku was breathing deeply, and so was I. We were both sweaty and gross and covered in sand and god that was the most fun I've had since I got here!

"So, what do I win?" I asked as I rolled off him.

"Paopu fruit with Kairi?" He offered, smiling, for once. It was hard not to smile. That was way too much fun.

For a moment, we both just lay there, staring up at the sun and breathing.

"…My stick broke." He pouted. And… holy crap, Riku's pouting. That's… just… weird. And adorable, did I mention adorable? Is it strange to think your best male friend is adorable? My life is odd. Like that's news.

"We should get some real weapons." I commented, getting to my feet and dusting myself off. It didn't help much. I was still covered in sand.

"Keyblades?" Riku snorted, rising with a little more trouble. I guess attacking your best friend with a branch doesn't fall into the non-strenuous activities category. He rubbed the sand from his eyes.

"How about just blades? I don't think we'll be needing the keys anymore." I smiled, casting a Curaga swiftly, without his consent. Riku's blinked, startled by the lack of pain perhaps, his hand healing instantly.

"Gotta teach me how to do that." He said, throwing his arm around my shoulders, and I nodded as we walked back to civilization, together.

"All in good time, grasshopper." I laughed, and he slapped me outside the head. "All in good time."

---------------

When we got back to Selphie's place, (and yeah, we did actually manage to find it again) Riku was pretty quiet. His arm was still around my shoulders, and he seemed to be hanging off me a bit, probably his ribs aching from the fight. I couldn't blame him. My own muscles where aching from the adrenaline. It was good though, so good.

I knocked on the door, and he let go of my shoulders.

"Hey guys, Sora and Riku are back!" Tidus called as he opened the door for us.

"Took ya long enough." I heard Wakka mutter from inside. Everyone was still sitting in the living room, looking generally bored. The video game had been abandoned for lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling. Typical teenagers.

"Sora! I was worried." Kairi smiled at me. I nodded back, and Riku went to lean against the wall.

"So, what are you guys doing?" I asked, my eyes glancing over the room. Tidus has plopped down on the couch, and no one seemed to be doing much of anything, but it was still the typical question to ask. Selphie sighed.

"Nothing. Where have you guys been?" She asked with mild interest, studying us. We were, after all, covered in sand.

"Beach." Riku answered for me monotonously. Well, _yeah_.

"We were thinking we should go get some new weapons. Since the Keybla-" I started, then stopped. Kairi coughed, Riku smirked. Selphie and the others just waited for me to continue. "Since we don't seem to have any." I finished lamely.

I knew I didn't have anything to fight with, it was the first thing I'd looked for in my room. Something to protect myself with from… um… from the Heartless that weren't attacking me, I guess.

"Um, dude, your mom would freak." Tidus snorted, staring at me from over his shoulder. Selphie and Wakka nodded knowingly.

"She doesn't have to know." I shrugged. "I saw a weapons store at the mall, come on, we'll go there-"

"You got any munny?" Wakka asked.

Well…no.

I'd always got munny from defeating the Heartless.

Now…

Shit.

I wasn't self-reliant anymore.

"You'd have to ask your mom." Selphie pointed out. And right then I really, really hated her.

I really was one of them. I was wrong. I really was just one of these kids. I had a parent and no munny and no way to protect myself and no home and nothing, and oh man was I freaking out.

This was so, so wrong. I didn't belong like this. I'd lived on my own for the last 3 years. I saved the goddamed universe! I… I… I...

"Relax Sora." A deep voice whispered in my ear, and once again I'm being pulled from Selphie's living room, her claustrophobic house, and out onto the front porch. Strong arms forced me to sit down on the steps.

"This is wrong." I told him, like I haven't before, like he doesn't know it already, like maybe he can fix it. He can't, and it's so wrong. I fixed it, but it's all wrong.

"I know." Riku comforted me, his arm around my shoulders as it was before, minutes ago, when I was happy. When I wasn't freaking out. Stop freaking out Sora, your going to scare him away.

Stop…

"There are weapons on the walls in my room, remember?" Riku reminded me, patting me on the shoulder. Do I remember that? Yeah, I do, his parents must have hated them. "We can use those." Parents. Shit…

"It's not the weapons." I snapped back, annoyed that he didn't get it.

"We'll make do, Sora." He said, raising my chin with his solid fingers, sand rubbing against my cheek. He looked me straight in the eyes. He has beautiful eyes, you know.

Yeah, I guess we would.

"Now stop being such a baby. Jeez." He muttered, rolling his eyes. I slapped him on the back of the head, and we both grinned.

We'd make do. We had to.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Summary: Upon return to Destiny Islands, Sora finds himself more and more drawn to an injured Riku in the surprisingly unfamiliar atmosphere while Kairi still holds tightly to a promise he's unintentionally made to her. SoraxRiku

Warning: I like my angst, and I like my hurt/comfort, and mostly, I like my SoraxRiku.

AN: Hehe, sorry for the wait. :) One of my shorter chapters, but there's not much more to add after that. Heh. Please review, and please don't hit me.

Disclaimer: Square Enix is god. Disney is sort of a demigod I guess. I am but a lowly servant.

-I had problems uploading, please let me know if you see anything wrong, okay?-

Everyday

Chapter 10

---------------

"I don't see why you never have time for me anymore. You always used to!"

"That's not true! I see you almost everyday!"

"Yeah, Sora, you see me, but you don't _see_ me."

"…What the hell does that mean?"

"Don't curse at me!"

"Ugh, come on Kairi, I'm sorry, I…"

"No you're not! You always say that!"

"I've been hanging out with you and Riku everyday since-"

"You've been with _Riku_, Sora! You said we'd be together everyday, and all you've been doing is hanging out with Riku!"

"That's not fair…"

"You promised me Sora! You're a liar."

"I'm not!"

"You are. I can't believe how you've changed."

"Kairi…"

_Click_

"Dammit." She hung up on me. I stared at the beige colored phone incredulously for a long moment. It stared back. 'You're an idiot, Sora.' It told me. 'Thanks phone.' I told it. 'It's nice to know I can rely on you in times of crisis.' The dial-tone blared back at me. Slowly, ever so slowly, I set the phone back down in it holster.

That was _not_ how I had planned for that phone call to go. Granted, I didn't exactly plan out my phone calls, but if I did? I wouldn't have planned it that way.

I knew Kairi was upset with me. She'd seemed generally dissatisfied since we gotten back to Destiny Islands. She had snapped at me last night about going to look for Riku, and then walked out of the room. But then, she'd seemed fine when we got back, cheery as ever… of course, then I'd freaked out and gone out on the porch with Riku, leaving her alone with the others. Huh.

Okay, maybe I was ignoring her a bit. I didn't mean to though! Really. It was just… Kairi expected so much, too much. Did every teenage girl expect this much from her friends? I wondered. I didn't know. I was missing so much I would have learned in school about kids my own age from the last few years that I really had no idea whether it was Kairi acting odd or myself.

And I didn't _see_ her? What did that mean? I saw her. She was red haired, blue eyed, skinny little Kairi who used to play on the beach with us. She lived with the mayor, she was one of my two best friends, and once I went on a life threatening journey to save her from the Heartless. There you go. That's Kairi. I saw her fine.

I knew I'd changed. I felt it, I really, really did. In everything I did and everything I said and everything I pretended to be. But…was I really a liar?

I prided myself on being an honest person. The truth is important. If you can't trust your friends, who can you trust, right? And if you can't trust anyone, then we're all in trouble. Paranoia city, right?

Kairi was my friend. I wanted her to trust me. I needed her to believe in me. I wasn't a liar. I knew I'd changed but… I wasn't a bad person…right?

---------------

It took me 10 minutes to work up the nerve to knock on her front door. Don't ask me why I was so nervous, I just was. Fighting with a guy was normal, it was par for the course. You got pissed off, yelled, one of you tackled the other, you fought, eventually you got your aggressions out, forgot what you were fighting about, and went home to get something to eat. Riku and I practiced this ritual all the time. Usually heavy on the tackling, don't ask me why. But arguing with a girl? Now that was just a scary thought.

I cringed when the front door opened, patted my hair down in a nervous habit, a pasted a smile on my face. Of course, it wasn't her, it was our ever so beloved mayor what's-his-face.

"Sora. Nice to see you. Kairi's in her room." The distinguished looking man nodded at me. Vaguely, I wondered if he was still mayor. I couldn't remember his name, so I just smiled and nodded. Sadly, I couldn't remember where Kairi's room was either.

"Er… which way is it… again?" I grinned, going for innocent and stupid. I'm sure I was pulling stupid off just fine.

"Upstairs, final door down the hall." The graying man said, raising one suspicious eyebrow before disappearing behind the kitchen counter. Wooh.

I walked slowly up to her room, like a man on death row. Er, a boy on death row. Whatever. It was a slow walk, that's the point. I didn't bother knocking on her door. It would probably take me another 10 minutes to work up the nerve. Maybe even 15. I just grabbed the knob and barged right in.

"Kairi?" She was sitting at a desk, chin resting on in hands, elbows resting on the desk. In front of her was a picture window. The mayor's house had a great view of the town, and the window was open, a breeze blowing Kairi's hair and making her shiver ever so slightly in her pink tank top and shorts. It was a cold afternoon on the mainland, foggy, otherwise I'm sure you'd be able to see the ocean from her window.

The ocean. The edge of our world. Beyond it, who knew?

"What are you doing here?" She looked over her shoulder at me, surprised, but not necessarily angry.

"Um…" What was I doing there? I wanted her to understand, I wanted to not be fighting, I wanted her to tell me I wasn't a bad person, I wanted to prove I wasn't a liar. I wanted all those things but… what exactly was I doing _there_? I so should have worked on a plan first.

"What, Sora?" Kairi asked again, a little more annoyed this time. I guess I'll wing it. Pay attention, because this is very-obvious-mistake-number-one.

"I… I'm not a liar. I know I've changed, but… I'm not. And I do see you, er, _see_ you. Really."

Kairi sighed, her expression softening as she moved from her desk chair to the bed and gently patted the spot next to her with newly manicured pink nails. I sat, quickly accepting her invitation before it was revoked, peeking at her out of the corner of my eye.

She didn't look angry, like I expected her to be, just sort of worn, tired. I expected a fight, like the one I'd gotten over the phone. It didn't look like I was going to get one. Which may have been good, or bad, depending on how you looked at it. And angry Kairi was better than a sad Kairi, as far as I was concerned.

Everyone sure was hormonal lately. First Riku, then me, now Kairi. Someone always had to have a problem, and it could never be an easy problem, like, ''the heartless are attacking' or 'the princess has been kidnapped' in which case I could go play white knight and save us all. It was always 'do I belong here?' or 'do you really know me?' It sucked. Majorly.

"Do you, Sora?" Kairi asked, looking at me deeply, leaning forward. I nodded frantically. Yes, yes, I _see_ you dammit, now can we stop with the drama?

"_Yes_ Kairi." I said, with all the reassurance in the world. This, ladies and gentleman, is mistake number two. Because I didn't see her at all. I didn't even know what she was talking about. At least, not until she leaned forward, closing the scant few inches of space between us to place her sweet, butterfly lips on mine.

Then it all sort of snapped into place. The looks she gave me. Her constant demands for attention. Her jealously. How she always wanted more.

Well, this was certainly… _more_. Her lips were soft, her eyes closed against soft cheeks as she kissed me and sort of nuzzled against me at the same time.

For some strange reason it was all very clear. She was beautiful, amazing, quirky, sweet, and so, so wrong for me. I placed a final kiss on her lips and pulled away.

"Kairi…" I whispered, as her eyes slowly opened. She was flushed from the short encounter, slightly dazed. It was so odd to look at my friend this way. "I…" I what? I lied, that's what. Just like you accused me of doing. I had no idea what you were talking about, I don't _see_ you at all, I don't know what's going on, and I want out of this.

How do you say that to the girl who just gave you your first kiss? And probably hers too?

"It's um, getting late. You'd better get home Sora!" Kairi said, popping up from the bed with a bright blush on her cheeks. It's wasn't late. It was hardly past noon, but yeah, that sounded good. In fact, that sounded great.

We stared at each other for a long moment, Kairi smiling dazedly and myself… well, I'm not sure what I looked like, but it couldn't be great. I certainly didn't feel great.

I knew I should tell her, crush her hopes now… I knew I should. There was only one problem with that.

I couldn't crush Kairi.

"Right, see you later." I said, practically running for the door. And that, my friends, was mistake number three.

TBC…


End file.
